In the interests of the health and safety of the attendees, and given the travel restrictions placed on international travelers, Terrapinn has taken the decision to postpone the event. The event will now be taking place on the 18th and 19th November 2020, at The Adora Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Terrapinn has been continually monitoring and assessing the potential impact of the Coronavirus on The Future of Energy Show Vietnam, which was to be held on the 8-9 July 2020 at The Adora Centre, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The event will be taking place as planned.

In the interest of the health and safety of attendees to The Future of Energy Show Vietnam, and given the restrictions placed on international travelers, Terrapinn, the organizer has taken the decision to postpone the event. The event will now be taking place on 18th and 19th November 2020 at The Adora Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The event will take place exactly as previously advertised, aside from the date change. Terrapinn would like to thank you all for your understanding and support in this decision.

If you have any questions regarding the show, please contact any of The Future Energy Show Vietnam 2020 team.

NEW DATES, PLEASE MARK YOUR DIARY: 18-19 NOVEMBER 2020 THE ADORA CENTER, – 431 HOANG VAN THU STREET, W.4, TAN BINH DISTRICT, HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

@ Terrapinn

The global wood industry has grown rapidly in recent years, and consumption of wood and wood products has increased sharply thanks to economic recovery in key consumer countries such as the United States and the EU.

The global wood processing market has increased from US USD 283 billion in 2012 to US USD 373 billion in 2016 with a CAGR of 7.2%. Expected to increase from USD 373 billion in 2016 to USD 531 billion by 2020 with a CAGR of 9.2%. The three main product groups of the wood processing industry are wood chips, industrial wood (artificial boards) and interior and exterior wood products. Vietnam Insider reports.

Asia is the largest sector in the wood processing market in 2016, accounting for 50% of the market share. Group of industrial wood (artificial boards) includes products such as plywood and paneling, chipboard and fiberboard. Artificial boards are the fastest growing product due to rapid and consistent growth in the Asia Pacific region. Over the past 15 years, global wood chip trade has increased by nearly 75%, mainly due to the expansion of pulp production in China. China and Japan are the two largest wood chip importing countries, followed by Finland, Sweden and Turkey.

Global furniture production reached USD 406 billion in 2015. The most important furniture makers in the world are China, which accounts for 41%, followed by the United States, Germany, Italy, India, Poland, Britain, Japan, Canada and South Korea.

Wood processing industry of Vietnam has become a major export commodity, ranking 4th place after coffee, seafood, machinery and spare parts. Vietnam has become the leading wood exporter in Southeast Asia and the seventh largest exporters of wood in the world. The quality of Vietnamese wood products is always improved and competitive with other countries in the region.

For More information on the research report, refer to this Link: Vietnam Wood Market

In 2017, Vietnam imported over 2.2 million m3 equivalents to nearly xxx.x million in turnover of round wood/ roughly squared wood. The industrial production index of wood processing industry is estimated at VND 266 trillion, up slightly by 8.2% compared to 2016. Production of wood chips in Q1/2018 is estimated at x.xxx thousand tons, down 22% over the same period in 2017. In Q1/2018, the production of artificial boards (including plywood, veneers, hardwood, plywood and similar materials) was estimated at x,xxx thousand m3, an increase of 39 % over the same period of 2017.

Wood production volume fell slightly by 12.8% in Q1 / 2018 compared with the same period of 2017, seats and tables are still the two largest product groups with the growth rate of (-11%) and 3%, respectively.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the domestic high-end furniture market is worth USD 2.5 billion, with 80% of European imports and 20% of domestic production.

By Vietnam Insider

Vietnam Star/ MyPrint247 has come up with an interesting infographic that uses handwriting analysis (graphology) to provide a glimpse into the personalities of 25 famous tech entrepreneurs.

The list includes Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and more. Check it out below.

Data management specialist Travelogix today announced a new partnership agreement with travel company STA Travel. In this latest agreement Travelogix will provide STA business travel account managers with on demand access to real time data via intuitive online dashboards, reports and interactive data publications.

The data provided will drive management and company policy decisions by highlighting industry trends, current spend and cost saving opportunities.

Ellen Rayner, Director of Travel Management (UK) at STA Travel, said:

“We are committed to providing a high level of service and travel expertise to our teams while operating in the most efficient, dynamic and cost effective way. Effective data management and analysis is a critical process which helps us reach our targets because it allows us to continuously monitor travel changes and trends.”

The Travelogix data management suite will enable STA Travel to analyse key performance data such as spend by department or individual traveller. Multi-level drill down views show immediate trends with reports that can be shared instantly with colleagues.

Ellen Added: “We have made commercial decisions that continuously improve the way STA Travel operates and we are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Travelogix team as we explore new opportunities to improve travel and business processes.

Chris Lewis, Founder and CEO of Travelogix commented: “STA Travel’s decision to continue its strategic partnership with Travelogix is great testament to what we have achieved and the innovation we bring to the market. We are looking forward to continuing to innovate and develop data management products that make us the best place for businesses to analyse their travel spend and policies and make critical changes to their operations.”

Travelogix  was established in 2011 and offers delivery and data management software, reporting tools and other solutions for TMCs and their clients, via a suite of products including Analytix, DataValet, DataShare, DataPublisher, ConsoliData, Farecast and SafeGuard.

Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — business processes, corporate culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. This reimagining of business in the digital age is digital transformation.

In Vietnam, digital transformation is an opportunity to create greater value for each business, make each organisation more efficient and offer better opportunities for every citizen.

Vietnam Star News talked to Steve Sidhu, CEO and Founder at CSS Partners about the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation for Vietnam’s businesses.

Steve Sidhu, CEO and Founder @ CSS Partners

What is your point of view about digital transformation in Vietnam?

As Vietnam continues to be the one of world’s fastest growing economy and third largest in South East Asia, and achieving GDP in the 7% range, the growth in the digitization market will only increase as more rapidness and embracing of the markets. Today the population stands at around 97M and with many young tech savvy IT professionals this will turnaround quickly and provide exponential growth in digital as needs increase. The key challenge is where to source very experienced IT and business minded talent who are to converse with top management.

As Vietnam is undergoing digital transformation and utilizing technology, this is imperative across all industry sectors covering AI, IoT, Robotics, Cybersecurity, Banking, Insurance, Education and Renewable Energy to name a few. In digital transformation, understanding current processes and objectives is crucial before technology is sought. Vietnam will need experienced digital transformation consultants to assist in projects from start to completion. Considerable amount of work needs to addressed with investment for the shortcomings to reach attainable goals by 2030.

Where are key decisions made in every organization with digital transformation?

Firstly, before a decision is made, it is necessary to assess the organization digital maturity and define the digital strategy and vision specifically for the company which includes looking at competitors’ digital maturity and any competitive advantage that can be executed on. This is performed with the C level executives.

Ideally, the Digital Transformation key decisions should be made at the Enterprise Level and sponsored by the CEO,CFO, COO and CTO as it involves people, process, technology and content of the Enterprise. The decisions are made best horizontally across the organization by a cross section Steering Committee that would include HR, IT, Finance, Digital Marketing, Information Architects, Enterprise Architects, Operational SME’s in workplace management, Call Centre Managers, Data Managers and Transformation program managers.

However, some Digital transformations are also driven from the operational areas in silos, due to ageing infrastructure or legacy systems from IT that create then an urgent need to transform many other aspects of the business. These are usually less successful as they have siloed mind sets, limited and competing funding and have other division priorities from an Enterprise perspective.

What do the business owners need to do differently to ensure digital transformation is a success?

A3. Business owners need to look at comprehensive current state practices, clearly define a future state vision for their digital business, identify any gaps to the visions and build a roadmap and digital capability to the future with people, process, technology and content.

The following are some examples of requirements based on what the business owners could define and drive differently;

• Superior Customer experience – People track – includes building a customer centric culture, partner enablement program, personalised buyer engagement, and any cross functional collaboration or industry cross function to enable the Digital business.
• Maximum Organisational efficiency – Process track – Customer lifecycle analysis, digital multi-channel and data driven marketing campaigns, total operational integration of workflows and data flows, advanced business intelligence utilising all structured and unstructured data to drive customer focussed initiatives, AI. Provides business agility and scalability.
• Integrated information infrastructure – Technology track – Integration of information management platforms and data silos, create a contextual information architecture, introduce predictive data analytics to predict customer preferences for purchasing customer products and services. (AI, machine learning)
• Optimised Content Management – Content track – tag and track large digital assets for instant access by users, high volume productive data should be easily on boarded, maintained and presented to customers, Enterprise search and site search optimisation for internal and external sites. All enterprise data should be cleansed, and meet quality and governance, privacy and compliance requirements.

As per your experiences, what holds people back with digital transformation at organizations and how to respond to such hold backs?

The key digital drivers are; 1. Speed to market, 2. Customer intimacy, 3. Disrupters with new companies, 4. Data becoming important and; 5. The need to take the roof off your business (I.e. moving from a physical office to a virtual world, staff or IT no longer need to be in the office.) There is now a need for businesses to have the customer front and center. Strategic competitive advantage now dominates.

Key Digital Challenges are:

• Business owners want to retain the same business model when they can now redefine it which means the return on investment is limited. Business Managers need to think differently and champion the cultural mind set to introduce Innovative ideas.
• Senior Managers would like to preserve their jobs till retirement and are not engaged which means key Digital initiatives are delayed, deferred or put on hold and limits the return on investment for the organisation.
• The top four descriptions are what businesses identify as their reason for difficulties and hold backs during transformation activity and these are; Legacy Peoples Culture, Confusion as to what Digital is, Disruptive shift in competitive advantage and Lack of Collaboration for system solution.

How does communication flow through the organization during the digital transformation process?

A5. Digital transformation requires cultural change management, people changes, process, data and technology changes. All of which must be communicated, especially the Strategic and directional changes that will take place to identify the Enterprise impacts on the workforce, systems and customers experience. Typically, this is done poorly if it is not a Strategic lead project. Often Consultants with prior Digital Experience are requested to do this. If it is a Strategic lead project, the Change Manager will create a Communications Plan and Key messages for the Enterprise at each level, from the Project kick off with the Transformation Program Manager or Executives. Messages are usually delivered with clarity, consistency and eliminate any workplace fears and are signed off by the sponsor and HR.

Where are the opportunities to influence new ways of working or new work?

Some quick opportunities are;

• Customer end to end processes. Leaning them out to reduce waste and create quicker customer orders, demand and on boarding.
• Customer facing websites and mobile application development enablement
• Multiple business form consolidation into one digital form
• Automating excel spreadsheets with robots to reduce error
• Automating new employee on boarding, changes and termination processes
• Enabling partners in your end to end process workflows
• Service catalogues, search engine improvements and service performance
• Reimaging your processes, what can you do differently, innovation consulting
• Call centre, telephony consolidations to promote multi brands, remote work forces.
• Legacy system reduction and move to Cloud applications, SasS, PaaS etc. and hybrid infrastructure from architecture plan.
• Set up of a data lake for business intelligence and identify key data sets
• Governance, risk and compliance audit review and requirements for Digital
• Supply chain process improvements
• Sales revenue opportunities, business model reviews
• Reduction of email through the company with workflow and systems enabled.

Why should business owners be advised by experienced consultants like your company?

CSS Partners can advise a digital strategy and action plan, with per year roadmap (specific to your organization), based on the ability to respond to change and readiness to absorb digital transformation so you are successful in execution. CSS Partners can provide Lean and innovative thinking and coaching to business managers without that background as have been involved in many projects.

In addition CSS Partners has professional digital consultants with over 20 year experience who can provide advice on Enterprise best practice and proven business working examples to enable business owners to (1) enhance the customer and end user experience to improve loyalty, revenues, productivity and retention. Help you know the customer with predictive ability;  (2) Transform business process and models to reduce costs, improve productivity, integrate supply chain partners and differentiate service offerings. (3) Simplify service management and catalogues through service strategy and design to reduce complexity, solve issues before they occur and gain visibility over assets and employee services. Provide workplace and customer mobility options and social media opportunities. (4) Optimise infrastructure and operations with Cloud strategy and Cloud based applications replacing legacy costly applications. This improves business agility and cost-effectiveness. (5) Derive Enterprise business insights on governance, risk, compliance and customer analytics to improves efficiencies and gain competitive advantage.

[blockquote align=”none” author=”Vietnam Star News“]

About Steve Sidhu

Steve is the CEO and Founder of CSS Partners. His career which spans many years take’s him into assisting local and global companies with global business development expansion, digital transformation, sales and marketing strategies, advisory, sales training and coaching. He has considerable experience and demonstrated success in building relationships with top Fortune 1000 CxO management and companies across the globe and delivering results.

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The magazine described Vietnam capital city of Hanoi as a “great place to get away for a romantic trip, experience Vietnamese culture, learn about their history, and have some delicious food.”

Hanoi and Nha Trang are listed among ten best cities in Asia for the newlyweds to go for honeymoon by the travel guide magazine The Travel.

“Hanoi is a city in Vietnam that is thousands of years old and has held an important place in the culture and history of Vietnam for a long time. This city is one that is still rich with culture, for people that want to really experience the best parts of Vietnam while being in the city.

Hanoi has just about everything that a happy couple going on their honeymoon could ask for. From ancient temples to museums and shopping centers, Hanoi has so much to offer for anyone that wants to visit this city. It’s a great place to get away for a romantic trip, experience Vietnamese culture, learn about their history, and have some delicious food.”  The Travel writes.

Besides, the coastal city of Nha Trang was also named in the list with enthralling beaches, ancient temples, and the remnants of the ancient Champa Kingdom along with the modern Vinpearl Amusement Park. Vietnam Insider reports.

According to The Travel, Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia that has become really popular with tourists over the years. With the country’s rich history, unique culture, and delicious food, it’s no surprise that this country is so attractive to so many visitors. There are a lot of fun places in Vietnam to visit and a ton of things to do, but when planning a honeymoon, one of the best places in Vietnam is Nha Trang.

No matter what you’re looking to do on your vacation, Nha Trang has it all. There are beaches, ancient temples, and the remnants of the ancient Champa Kingdom. Along with these things, Nha Trang is also home to Vinpearl Amusement Park.

The Travel’s list also features other cities in Asia including Chiang Mai (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia), Singapore, Kyoto (Japan), Luang Prabang (Laos), Tea Country (Sri Lanka), Roh Rong Island (Cambodia) and El Nido (The Philippines).

Between January and November of this year, total newly-registered and added capital, as well as share purchases and capital contributions hit $31.8 billion, up 3.1 per cent against the same period in 2018,.

According to a report bay according Ministry of Planning and Investment, total foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursement in the eleven months of 2019 witnessed an on-year increase of 7.2 per cent, reaching $17.69 billion.
Related: How to Set up A Foreign Company in Vietnam
As many as 3,478 projects were granted investment certificates, up 28.2 per cent on-year. The total newly-registered capital was estimated at $14.68 billion, equal to 93 per cent of the same period last year.
Besides, 1,256 existing projects were allowed to raise capital by $5.87 billion, up 20 per cent in the number of projects and down 20.7 per cent in capital volume, compared to the same period last year. Almost all capital expansion projects were of a small scale and there was no outstanding capital expansion project of a large scale during the period.
A total of 8,561 share purchases and capital contributions were made by foreign investors with the value of $11.24 billion, up 47.1 per cent and making up 35.4 per cent of the total registered capital. The processing and manufacturing industry took the lead among the 19 sectors attracting FDI with $21.56 billion, followed by real estate ($3.31 billion) and wholesale and retail.
Among the 117 nations and territories investing in Vietnam, Hong Kong (China) ranked first with $6.69 billion. South Korea and Singapore shared the second position with $5.73 billion.
Hanoi maintained its first position in luring FDI with the registered capital sum of $6.82 billion. The runners-up are Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai.

By Kim Oanh @ VIR

FDI projects disbursed US$17.69 billion in the first eleven months, up 7.2 percent.

According to the latest report from ‘s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) released on November 25, 2019, capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors in the first eleven months of 2019 increased 47.1 per cent compared to the same period of 2018, total capital contributions standing at US$11.24 billion from 8,561 transactions. Vietnam Insider reports.

Related: Company formation in Vietnam

Investment in the form of capital contributions and share purchase has increased sharply in recent years and accounts for an increasingly large proportion of total foreign investment. In 2017, this form accounted for 17 percent of total registered capital, in 2018 27.78 per cent, and in the first eleven months of 2019 35.4 per cent.

The report showed that total newly-registered and additional capital and capital contributions and shares purchased by foreign investors stood at US$31.8 billion in the first eleven months, up 3.1 per cent against the same period of 2018.
Meanwhile, there were 3,478 new projects granted investment licenses in the period, with total newly-registered capital of nearly US$14.68 billion, down 7 per cent year-on-year, while 1,256 projects added capital to the tune of US$5.87 billion, down 20.7 per cent against the same period of 2018.

Nineteen fields received investment from foreign investors, in which manufacturing and processing attracted much attention, with total capital of nearly US$21.56 billion, accounting for 67.8 per cent. Real estate ranked second, with US$3.31 billion, accounting for 10.4 per cent, while wholesale and retail was third and science and technology fourth.
There were 117 countries and territories with valid investment projects. Hong Kong led the way, with nearly US$6.69 billion, followed by South Korea with US$5.73 billion and Singapore with US$4.47 billion.

There were 117 countries and territories with valid investment projects in Vietnam | Photo: Viet Tuan

Sixty cities and provinces received investment in the period, in which Hanoi attracted the most, with more than US$6.82 billion, accounting for 21.5 per cent. Ho Chi Minh City followed, with more than US$5.48 billion, accounting for 17.2 per cent, then southern Dong Nai, Binh Duong and northern Bac Ninh provinces.

Notably, in the first eleven months, the number of delegations coming to explore investment opportunities in Vietnam increased sharply, by about 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. Many of these delegations sought opportunities to shift investment from China to Vietnam and were primarily from South Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore.

Exports by the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) in the first eleven months were worth US$166.7 billion, up 3.8 per cent year-on-year. Exports excluding crude oil stood at US$164.8 billion, up 3.9 per cent.

Imports by the FDI sector were US$134.1 billion, up 3.1 per cent against the same period of 2018. The FDI sector therefore recorded a trade surplus in the first eleven months of US$32.6 billion including crude oil and US$30.7 billion excluding crude oil

By Minh Do, VET/ Vietnam Insider

Vietnam’s population to reach 104 million by 2030, with an average life expectancy of 75 years, and minimum healthy life of 68 years, according to the population strategy recently approved by its government.

Specifically, the total fertility rate will be maintained at 2.1 children born per woman at reproductive age, while the birth rate gaps among regions are set to be narrowed by 2030, stated the Vietnam’s National Population Strategy until 2030 approved by the country’s prime minister on Friday. Shi Yinglun reports on Xinhua.
Relate: Vietnam sees fastest population aging in Asia
Vietnam also aims to maintain the population age structure at an appropriate level, with 22 percent of children under 15 and 11 percent of those over 65. The independents are set to account for 49 percent of total population of Vietnam and the sex ratio at birth is expected to be at 109 male births per 100 female births.
The average life expectancy of Vietnamese people is targeted to reach 75 years old with the minimum healthy life of 68 years. The expected average height is 168.5 cm for male and 157.5 cm for female.

Heavy traffic with people mostly riding motorcycles Hanoi Vietnam

By Shi Yinglun @ Xinhua.

The first International Aviation Expo (VIAE 2019) is taking place in Ho Chi Minh City from November 26-28, attracting the participation of various domestic and foreign businesses.

The expo featured over 100 pavilions, introducing many technologies and equipment in the field of aviation as well as auxiliary industrial products and interior and exterior equipment of aircrafts.
Related: Vietnam Insider Named Official Media Partner for International Aviation Expo 2019
The event offers an opportunity for domestic and international airlines and aviation manufacturers to meet and exchange information related to the technology trends as well as promote trade exchange, contributing to the sustainable development of Vietnam’s aviation industry.
During the three-day expo, many seminars and conferences are being held to discuss investment in the construction of airports during the 2020-2030 decade; civil aviation management; general operation of airports; solutions for aviation personnel issues; and major measures that Vietnamese airlines prepare in response to the fourth industrial revolution.
Asia – Pacific is now rated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as the most dynamic region with the highest growth in the world, with 6%-7% per year.
Particularly, the growth of Vietnam’s aviation has doubled the region’s general market over the past decade, with an average of over 16% per year.
At the VIAE 2019, many Vietnamese and international enterprises signed cooperation agreements, including those related to human training in the field of aviation.

By NDO